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More and more bad numbers
I'm sitting home tonight lending moral support to my wife as she studies for an upcoming actuarial exam. So I thought that I'd chase down a few numbers since it has become obvious to me that many people are misinformed about the number of teams going to Florida this year and in years past:
In 1999, 206 teams attended nationals, which were held late in April.
In 2000, 268 teams attended national, a 30% increase over 1999.
In 2001, 335 teams attended nationals, a 25% increase over 2000.
In 2002, FIRST has announced intentions for 288 teams to attend nationals, a 15% decrease below 2001.
In terms of the number of teams, it is 47 fewer, not over a hundred fewer than 2001. 288 teams is also more than any previous event besides the 2001 nationals. The 2002 Championship is still going to be a huge affair.
I understand the disappointment about the new rules, but I urge people use avoid drastically inflated figures when making arguments for or against them.
P.J.
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